Henley-in-Arden's Mat Jackson is extra determined to get back among the leaders of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Croft on June 3rd after personally driving to Germany and back to pick up a new engine for his BMW.
Mat's family-run Jacksons Motorsport team were left with a sizeable repair bill after their BMW 320si E90 suffered a heavy collision and then an engine failure in the most recent rounds at Thruxton. After two stunning opening rounds at Brands Hatch and Rockingham it suddenly meant a no-score.
But this week 25-year-old Mat returned from BMW's competition department in Munich to collect his repaired engine that the team are now busy fitting into the #48 car ahead of the up-coming races at Croft near Darlington in North Yorkshire.
Mat says: "If the big teams damage a car or blow an engine they have a rash of people jump on the car immediately or pull another engine out of the truck. We don't yet have that luxury and everyone has been busy putting the car back together properly so we can be competitive again at Croft.
"It was quite a drive to and from Munich - I had plenty of time to think about our strategy for Croft on the Autobahn! And yes it was a white van!"
Prior to Thruxton, Whale/Maxim-supported Mat was up to fifth in the championship right behind reigning champion Matt Neal thanks to second and third place finishes outright and was also leading the Independents championship for privateer entries.
He adds: "To be back to eighth overall and fifth in the Independents doesn't reflect our true competitiveness. Everyone has seen that we can rattle the established big names and I think we'll be right back up there with them at Croft.
"We'll be back on a more familiar tyre - not the one-off that Dunlop provided for Thruxton - which will make us feel a bit more comfortable with the set-up of the car. We also won't have the same gearing problems that Thruxton caused us. the circuit lay-out has a couple of tight hairpins that should play to the advantages of the BMW's rear-wheel-drive on the exits.
"It's a circuit I enjoy because it's got a good mix of fast, medium and slow speed sections that require a lot of precision and controlled aggression, plus a good technical mind to get the balance of the car right.
"We know what we're capable of and it will be important to get some strong results at Croft to claw back some of the ground we've lost. I really want to achieve some strong results at Croft, just as much for everyone who works and supports our team as myself."
